The two-day grilling from a Senate Committee in April that resulted from the scandal left Zuckerberg and co scrambling to repair public image.

In a document authored by a Facebook board committee, the company spoke of the proceedings, saying “any such inquiries could subject us to substantial fines and costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business, or adversely affect our business.”

The controversy has also seen Facebook invest heavily into its security capabilities, with Wehner explaining “those investments are in the billions of dollars per year, those will have a negative impact on margins.”

But it is anticipated by Facebook that this investment will be fruitful in the long-run, with the board committee stating the security expenses would “drive significant year-over-year growth.”

The document also highlights that expense growth has exceeded revenue growth, which is expected to continue through 2018 and 2019.

European exodus

Another area of concern for the social media giant appears to be Europe – where the number of daily active users dropped from 282 million in Q1 to 279 million in the most recent quarter.

“There is decreased engagement with our products, or failure to accept our terms of service, as part of changes that we implemented in connection with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe,” said the board committee.

The EU has received complaints of Facebook GDPR non-compliance since midnight on 25 May.

Edward Pollitt

Edward Pollitt After starting as an intern for Information Age in 2017, Edward is now a full-time journalist with the publication. He covers a range of topics that relate to the technology sector, with a particular interest in start-ups, digital transformation and cyber security.